MANILA, Philippines — President Rodrigo Duterte has ordered Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) to speed up its hospital claims payment, Malacañang said Thursday.
“President Rodrigo Roa Duterte directed the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) to expedite the payment of valid claims of hospitals today, April 8, 2021,” presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said in a statement.
PhilHealth chief Dante Gierran recently acknowledged that the agency has been slow in processing unpaid claims from hospitals.
READ: PhilHealth admits ‘slow’ payment of unpaid claims of hospitals
Gierran said that hospital claims in 2020 totaled P107 billion, but only 85 percent had been compensated thus far.
The President also recently ordered PhilHealth to cover fees incurred by COVID-19 patients receiving care at temporary tents in hospitals.
READ: Duterte to PhilHealth: Cover COVID-19 patients’ stay in tents, swab tests, isolation
During a recent House of Representatives hearing, a lawmaker disclosed that some hospitals were charging COVID-19 patients staying in temporary tents P1,000 per hour while awaiting admission. PhilHealth did not cover the expense.
READ: Some hospitals charge patients waiting in temporary tents P1-K per hour – solon